蚂蚁与蝴蝶并非好友，然而有些蝴蝶的幼虫——毛毛虫却能在蚂蚁那里得到“皇室”般的待遇，个中原因是什么呢？意大利都灵大学和英国牛津大学等机构的科学家在最新一期美国《科学》杂志上揭示了这一奥秘。
研究人员报告说，寄生性的蓝蝶毛毛虫会通过模仿蚁后的声音来哄骗工蚁给予它们“皇室”般的待遇。
在西欧地区有一种名为Myrmica schencki的蚂蚁。研究人员发现，在这种蚂蚁的蚁群中蓝蝶毛毛虫可以生活得很舒适，它们在蚁群中会像蚂蚁幼虫那样乞食，并能分泌类似蚂蚁幼虫那样的化学物质，工蚁们会像对待幼蚁那样给蓝蝶毛毛虫喂食。在蚁群遭到侵扰后进行的救援行动中或当食物变得稀少时，蓝蝶毛毛虫可以获得比幼蚁更好的待遇。在极端缺乏食物的情况下，工蚁甚至杀死幼蚁来喂养蓝蝶毛毛虫，这些特殊情况无法用蓝蝶毛毛虫分泌化学物质或者乞食来解释。
为此，研究人员记录了蓝蝶毛毛虫发出的声音，并分析其节拍长度和频率。他们发现，与工蚁发出的声音相比，蓝蝶毛毛虫发出的声音与蚁后的声音更相像。
研究人员据此推测，蓝蝶毛毛虫的声音模仿能力是其获得更好待遇的主要原因，这种模仿声音的方式可能也是其它在蚁群中寄生的多种昆虫所惯用的“伎俩”。（生物谷Bioon.com）
生物谷推荐原始出处：
Science 6 February 2009: DOI: 10.1126/science.1163583
Queen Ants Make Distinctive Sounds That Are Mimicked by a Butterfly Social Parasite
Francesca Barbero,1,2 Jeremy A Thomas,2,3* Simona Bonelli,1 Emilio Balletto,1 Karsten Sch?nrogge3
Ants dominate terrestrial ecosystems through living in complex societies whose organization is maintained via sophisticated communication systems. The role of acoustics in information exchange may be underestimated. We show that Myrmica schencki queens generate distinctive sounds that elicit increased benevolent responses from workers, reinforcing their supreme social status. Although fiercely defended by workers, ant societies are infiltrated by specialist insects that exploit their resources. Sounds produced by pupae and larvae of the parasitic butterfly Maculinea rebeli mimic those of queen ants more closely than those of workers, enabling them to achieve high status within ant societies. We conclude that acoustical mimicry provides another route for infiltration for 10,000 species of social parasites that cheat ant societies.
1 Dipartimento di Biologia Animale e dell'Uomo Laboratorio di Zoologia, Turin, Università degli Studi di Torino, Via Accademia Albertina 13, 10123 Turin, Italy.
2 Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Maclean Building, Benson Lane, Crowmarsh Gifford, Wallingford, Oxfordshire, OX10 8BB, UK.
3 Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Tinbergen Building, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3PS, UK.
